thompson



PATENITEL JAN 14 :ses

@Hitch gisten sitrnt @Hirn WILLIAM H. THOMPSON, OF BIDDEFORD, .MAINE.

Letters Patent No. 73,267, dated January 14, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROVING-FRAME.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM- II. THOMPSON, oi' Biddeford, in the countyof York, and Stato of Maine, have invented a. new and useful Improvementin Roving-Frames34 and I do hereby declare that the following is a fulland exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings,'making a part of this specification.

lWIy improvement is applicable tosall kinds of machines that are usedfor making roving of fibrous subs stance preliminary to spinning thesame into thread, usually known as speeders, extensors, slubbcrs,intermediates, jacks or ily-frames. i y

The main object and design of my improvement is'the reduction in thecost of the machine, dispensing' with several parts that are liable toget out of order, reducing the height of the machine, and facilitatingthe adjustment of the distance traversed by the rail, which governs theposition on the bobbin ofthe several layers,

of roving. This is eifected mainlyby the use'of a series oi' flexiblesteel bands, rigid and non-extensible in the direction of their lengt-h,but strong enough to support heavy weights, and capable of ilexure uponiixed or movable pulleys.

The traverse-rail in the above-named machines is mainly supported byweights so applied as to act as a eounterbalance. The lifting of therail has heretofore been effected by means of chains, racks, andpinions. The chains become worn at every link or joint, and thus changein length, and the racks and pinionsconsumc a great deal of power, andalso cause a jerk when the motion oi' the rail is reversed.

By the use of the metallic bands for governing the motion of the rail, auniform length of traverse of the rail is eiected at each successivelayer ofthe roving upon the bobbin, and it can be dropped lower ornearly into contact with `the bottom rail, while at the same time itsmotion is steady and regular.

The supports orivertical framework, usually termed Sa1nsons, are placedat intervals in the length of the frame, and afford the means ofattachment for the operating mechanism. At each of these Samsom, thepulleys and bands are attaehedfwhich give motion to the traverse-rail,their construction being as described below.

In the drawing, that part of'a roving-frame only is represented thatrelates to this invention, viz, the vertical motion of thetraverse-rail, by which the roving A. is laid by the flier F, in regularcoils, B, of defi* nite length, upon the bobbin C. The flier has arotary motion about the bobbin C, and the distance that the bobbintraverses is precisely the same as the rise and fall of thetraverse-rail E. The bobbiu rests upon the parts G H, which are raisedand lowered by the rail E. In the ends of the rail there is a recess orgroove, I, to receive the xed vertical guides JJ', upon which therailtraverses. Attached to the rail, upon the back side, there areprojecting studs or arms, K K', which carry the friction-rollers L L',and .above them, in the same'planQ-there-are friction-rollers, M M. Inthe rear of these, and at labout the same level, there are pulleys, NN',attached to the traverse-shaft O, which move alternately in eitherdirection, as indicated by the arrows;l i v The movements of the shaft Oare caused and controlled by the same mechanism that is used in thecommon roving-frame, and my improvement relates to no other parts thanthose herein representedand set forth, all of vwhich depend upon themotion of the shaft O.

In the drawing, the rail E is represented at its lowest point, and thecounterhalanceqvcights P I at their highest elevation. T he cords orchains R R ofthe balance-weights are wound partly around the pulleys QQ', which are aliXed-to the traverse-shaft O.

The single metallic bands S T'V, which impart vertical motion to therail E, are thin, strong, and flexibler They are aboutan inch in width,and eaube bent without injury around the pulleys L M N. The band isafiixed at W to the pullcyN,'and nearly encircles it. Thence the part Vpasses over thc friction-pulley M., which changes the-direction of theband, and the'purt 'I pnsscs'downward and around the pulley L, thenceupward at S, and is attached near the top oi the frame to thesuspension-screw X. This screw passes through a stud,-U, near the top ofthe frame, and is raised or lowered by turning the adjusting-nut Z. Thisnut rests upon a metallic washer, having below it an Indiwruhocr washer,Y, which has suiiicient elasticity to prevent any sudden jar orconcussion when the direction of the motion of the .rail changes. Theilexible metallic bands sustain the weight of the rail, and transmitsuch variable motions to the rail as are required for laying the rovingupon the bobbin,'tl1e shoijtening or elongation of the exible benddepending upon,` the rotation of the pulleys N Nl'pon which the bund iswound. v By the use of the metallic bands, as herein applied andconnected with the trvei'Se-rail, I dispense with lifting-racks,pinion-gears, andtuds, reducing the cost of' the machine, savingpowerfand impaxting a uniform and steay motion to the rail. Il; deemeddesirable, the bund may have adireot lifc upon the rail without theinterventionof the friction-pulley M. v Y

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters'Patent, is-

'The'combnation of a, series of flexible metallic bands with thetraverso-fail E, substantially as herein described and for the purposespeciedf VVILLIAJM H. THOMPSON. [L 5.]

Witnesses:

JOHN M. BATCHELDER, S. A. Booman.

